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LabRadar Trigger DIY

Allthewatts

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 8, 2020
107
58
Thought I would just say how awesome it appears that the LabRadar can be! In about an hour of total time, I've been able to purchase, and fabricate all the items needed for a vibration based trigger.

The idea was posted here: https://www.ozfclass.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=12152, which I found during a google search.

Fabricate can be very simple. The diagram on page 2, from James Elphick is below:
1656283446690.png


These few components can be soldered directly to a female audio plug and housed in its plastic backshell.
1656283363945.png

Completed unit below:
1656283601172.png


Works well, even on a Red Ryder!
 
Well done! I have purchased a few of the available external triggers and neither really work. I have just settled with a very specific setup and finally have mine working reliably. Will yours trigger on a heavy rimfire? I am pretty sure that a Red Ryder is a spring operated rifle so it probably has more inertia than some heavy rimfires.
 
I've yet to try! One could build with the SW18010P, a higher sensitivity vibration switch, and have a much more sensitive trigger to the Labradar.
I have a target 22, and will report back on effectiveness once tested.
 
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This has been my issue. I've built a half dozen of them. Housed them in a variety of 3d printed pic and arca rail mounts, as well the popular velcro to the rifle mount. I can't get them to work with a heavy (18lb) rimfire. At least not consistently. It registers more bolt cycles than it does shots fired. And if you own a labradar, then you know what a fucking joke the software is, so deleting a shot if you missed it mid-string is nothing short of an arduous task of time.
Have used both normal, and high sensitivity vibration sensors. Labradar's $50 mic just showed up a few days ago which I'm going to try next.
It's been frustrating to say the least to make it work with heavy rimfires.
 
This has been my issue. I've built a half dozen of them. Housed them in a variety of 3d printed pic and arca rail mounts, as well the popular velcro to the rifle mount. I can't get them to work with a heavy (18lb) rimfire. At least not consistently. It registers more bolt cycles than it does shots fired. And if you own a labradar, then you know what a fucking joke the software is, so deleting a shot if you missed it mid-string is nothing short of an arduous task of time.
Have used both normal, and high sensitivity vibration sensors. Labradar's $50 mic just showed up a few days ago which I'm going to try next.
It's been frustrating to say the least to make it work with heavy rimfires.
No need for a external trigger on a rimfire, just set the labradar to doppler.
 
In that event, it would be very possible to use a microcontroller and an accelerometer. Once the acceleration response of a fired shot occurs, then trigger. That's a far move involved solution than a simple vibration switch.
I'll see if this simple solution can be worked!
 
I got very mixed results with doppler when trying that method as well.
It requires precise aiming of the radar to the target and proper offset. IME 6" or less offset and the barrel close to the centerline height wise works for me.

ETA:
Assuming an uncluttered range, if you are not getting tracking of the bullet to 100 yards or close to it, you do not have good aiming of the radar.
This applies even with .22 LR. For EU units reduce the range by whatever the reduction in power is.
 
It requires precise aiming of the radar to the target and proper offset. IME 6" or less offset and the barrel close to the centerline height wise works for me.

ETA:
Assuming an uncluttered range, if you are not getting tracking of the bullet to 100 yards or close to it, you do not have good aiming of the radar.
This applies even with .22 LR. For EU units reduce the range by whatever the reduction in power is.
Exactly
 
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I believe that, it will help hold the trigger position, but I have not personally tested. Did you just. There may be an internal resistor to protect against shorting.
 
The cap and resistor are to emulate the signal from the microphone which has a low pass filter on it. Without it will provide the full voltage and current that exists on the circuit.

AFAIK there is no audio processing and the microphone simply is providing a closed circuit when triggered. I've used a vibration trigger with no filter for a few years now without issue, but I do know that LabRadar does NOT like people using them at all FWIW.

If there is any sensitivity or signal improvement by using the filter I do not know, as I have not tested it or read anything stating there is.
 
Guys,

You do not need to include the capacitor and resistor as seen in the earlier posts. The vibration switch works just as well by itself.
Switch and Housing - Copy - Copy.jpg


The circuit in the first post which includes other components is an earlier design from someone who thought a gun's violent recoil would register multiple shots as the switch settles in the recoil. The capacitor and resistor is a simple circuit designed to absorb the false trigger after-shocks as the vibration settles. This is not needed however as the radar does this for you by turning off for two seconds.

Labradar has an inbuilt two-second cutoff designed to register only once per shot. You can see this in action by looking at the orange Arm light. On registering a shot it goes off for two seconds. It will not register another shot until it comes on again.

If you exclude the other components and don't bother with a clamping mechanism you can make your trigger small enough that it fits inside the battery compartment for storage. With external power packs no-one uses the battery compartment anyway so you may as well use it for this. Fit the SW-18010p vibration switch inside a 3.5mm socket which is conveniently the same size as a AA battery. The 1M male-to-male cord is wrapped up in an elastic band and the band is what you attach it to the rifle with.

Settup.jpg
Stowage - Copy.jpg


No need to complicate the switch any more than it needs to be like in these earlier models below. They include the more complicated circuit in the first post and a Picatinny clamping mechanism. The one on the left is a cheap Chinesium bubble level on the left, and a rubber rail cover on the right. While they work, and a clamping mechanism is sexy, they are no better than the switch by itself and a simple elastic band. Plus, not all rifles have rails.
11 - Copy.jpg
22 - Copy.jpg



Not registering on a suppressed .22.
(1) Use the most sensitive of the three types of SW-180XX switches, and (2) positioning the switch to best effect. The '18010' switch is the most sensitive - I use this, not the 18020, and definitely not the least sensitive 18030. The second part of the fix is attaching the coil of the switch at right angles to the recoil. Note the picture below where these vibration switches are a coil that wobbles around a fixed post. If you know the attitude of the switch you can attach it so the coil is most likely to move in the recoil. Like the example on the right which is a .22. Attach the switch as far forward on the gun where the recoil will move the gun the most, and at right angles. Plus remove as much weight to help it jump; remove the bipod or even that torch in the photo.
2384-03[1].jpg
recoil - Copy.jpg


As for when the radar registers a shot while you move the gun or work the action. Just ignore the instruction on the screen to press a button. Keep shooting, it will reset itself when it registers the next shot.

A SW18010p switch by itself in a socket with cable and elastic band works fine.
 
Last edited:
Labradar's $50 mic just showed up a few days ago which I'm going to try next.
I've been using the microphone with .22LRs for about three years with a hight degree of success. Keys to happiness:
  • Set the firearm type to "Handgun" (which you'll forget about and see a colossal 5000+ fps velocity at your next centerfire session)
  • The microphone has to be in front of and less than an inch from the muzzle.
I won't argue that LR could make a number of improvements to the device, but I guess I've learned how to surmount all its idiosyncrasies over the years. The fussiness of using the mic with .22LR is the worst I've dealt with; if I tried to use it on a cluttered or indoor range I believe my frustration factor would go way up. With that said, it's rare that I have any issues with mine.
 
Guys,

You do not need to include the capacitor and resistor as seen in the earlier posts. The vibration switch works just as well by itself.
View attachment 7925244

The circuit in the first post which includes other components is an earlier design from someone who thought a gun's violent recoil would register multiple shots as the switch settles in the recoil. The capacitor and resistor is a simple circuit designed to absorb the false trigger after-shocks as the vibration settles. This is not needed however as the radar does this for you by turning off for two seconds.

Labradar has an inbuilt two-second cutoff designed to register only once per shot. You can see this in action by looking at the orange Arm light. On registering a shot it goes off for two seconds. It will not register another shot until it comes on again.

If you exclude the other components and don't bother with a clamping mechanism you can make your trigger small enough that it fits inside the battery compartment for storage. With external power packs no-one uses the battery compartment anyway so you may as well use it for this. Fit the SW-18010p vibration switch inside a 3.5mm socket which is conveniently the same size as a AA battery. The 1M male-to-male cord is wrapped up in an elastic band and the band is what you attach it to the rifle with.

View attachment 7925214View attachment 7925215

No need to complicate the switch any more than it needs to be like in these earlier models below. They include the more complicated circuit in the first post and a Picatinny clamping mechanism. The one on the left is a cheap Chinesium bubble level on the left, and a rubber rail cover on the right. While they work, and a clamping mechanism is sexy, they are no better than the switch by itself and a simple elastic band. Plus, not all rifles have rails.
View attachment 7925226View attachment 7925227


Not registering on a suppressed .22.
(1) Use the most sensitive of the three types of SW-180XX switches, and (2) positioning the switch to best effect. The '18010' switch is the most sensitive - I use this, not the 18020, and definitely not the least sensitive 18030. The second part of the fix is attaching the coil of the switch at right angles to the recoil. Note the picture below where these vibration switches are a coil that wobbles around a fixed post. If you know the attitude of the switch you can attach it so the coil is most likely to move in the recoil. Like the example on the right which is a .22. Attach the switch as far forward on the gun where the recoil will move the gun the most, and at right angles. Plus remove as much weight to help it jump; remove the bipod or even that torch in the photo.
View attachment 7925230View attachment 7925231

As for when the radar registers a shot while you move the gun or work the action. Just ignore the instruction on the screen to press a button. Keep shooting, it will reset itself when it registers the next shot.

A SW18010p switch by itself in a socket with cable and elastic band works fine.
Great post, and good information.
 
I built up a version of this trigger using a SW-18010P, connecting one lead to the Tip, one to the Shaft(Red). I glued a small magnet on the connector, and was able to just mount the switch to the action on my 22. Great performance, caught every shot, with only a few false triggers, which were obvious to correct.